Most coaches and players believe there are two parts to a season.
The BG tennis team is no different.
The Falcons concluded the first – non-conference – part of their season, going 11-0 and earning a spot in the national rankings.
However, BG didn’t begin the second – conference – part of their season the way it would’ve liked, losing back-to-back Mid-American Conference matches.
The Falcons (11-2, 0-2) narrowly lost to Eastern Michigan and Toledo by identical scores of 4-3 over the weekend.
On Saturday BG won three out of the first four singles matches to finish, but Toledo (10-4, 1-1) won the last two erasing a 3-2 deficit. The match was held at the Laurel Hill Tennis Club.
Needing only one win in the final two matches to cement the victory, BG couldn’t quite get over the hump.
Nussbaum (fifth flight) and Volle’s (sixth) matches both went the distance, but neither one could finish it off. Nussbaum lost, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4), while Volle lost, 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-4.
Despite cramping in her third-set tiebreaker, BG coach Penny Dean described Nussbaum’s performance as “the best match I’ve seen her play in a couple of years.”
BG played in what Dean called a “hostile environment with raucous fans,” but she said the team handled it well.
“I was very proud of my players,” she said. “We prepared for that [hostile environment] and thought it would be like that. We handled it beautifully and didn’t let it affect our play.”
Kelsey Jakupcin picked up a win at the top flight, 6-3, 6-2, over Martina Wodzinski.
“Kelsey played an awesome match against Martina Wodzinski,” Dean said. “That girl was good and Kelsey just annihilated her.”
Christine Chiricosta won a hard-fought match, 7-6, 7-5, at the second flight against Ashley Frey, while Sam Kintzel, who was 4-0 on the weekend, picked up the only other Falcon win on the day by beating Jenny Belsky, 7-5, 6-0, at the fourth flight.
In doubles BG lost the doubles point for only the second time this year.
The duo of Babina and Kintzel was the only doubles’ victor for the Falcons with an 8-4 win over Belsky and Sarah Horning.
On Friday the Falcons won the doubles point, but lost four out of the six singles matches to EMU (5-9, 1-0). The MAC opener for both teams was held at EMU’s Chippewa Club.
“It was a 5 1/2-hour match and it was very, very exciting, dramatic college tennis,” Dean said. “It just came down to a point here or there, and we happened to not get those critical points.”
The duo of Jakupcin and Chiricosta won, 8-3, at the top flight, while Babina and Kintzel won in a third-flight tiebreaker giving BG a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived as EMU won at the top-three flights.
Jakupcin was defeated in a closely-contested match, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, by reigning MAC Player of the Year Vanessa Frankowski.
Chiricosta and Babina were also defeated at the second and third flights, respectively.
“[EMU’s] top-three players are very, very tough,” Dean said.
“We played good tennis against them.”
Picking up the lone singles wins for BG were Kintzel and Nussbaum at the fourth and sixth flights, respectively.
Menoff was up 3-1 in her match at the fifth flight, but injured her back. She fought through it and finished the match, but eventually lost, 6-3, 6-3.
Despite the tough losses to begin MAC play, Dean was still happy with the way the team performed.
“I was proud of them,” she said. “Everybody played hard and played good tennis. We battled and showed a lot of heart.”
“We still have a lot to feel good about and build on for the rest of the MAC season.”
The Falcons will try to return back to their winning ways when they face Northern Illinois on Sat. at 1 p.m. at the new BG tennis complex.